The Matthew Tkachuk Trade Is Exactly Why Nobody Should Want Mitch Marner

The Matthew Tkachuk Trade Is Exactly Why Nobody Should Want Mitch Marner

The Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup for the first time ever last year. Now they’re back in the Finals again for the third year in a row. I’m a firm believer that there are always so many lessons that can be learned from the team that is eventually crowned champion. Lesson number one is simple. The Matthew Tkachuk trade is exactly why every team should be cautious about overpaying for Mitch Marner.

The Jonathan Huberdeau trade changed everything. Hand up. I would have bid whatever it took to land Tkachuk, but moving out Huberdeau and Weegar to do it felt insane. Except it wasn’t insane. It was to build for playoff hockey.

What Huberdeau was for Florida is what Marner was for Toronto. Small, skinnier, playmakers who pass the puck really well but seem to fade in the playoffs when the physicality ramps up. The Panthers traded out that piece for Tkachuk, and the evidence of what happened next isn’t hard to see.

The only problem for Toronto is that Marner will walk for nothing, and whoever they get instead during free agency won’t be as good, while they’re forced to overpay because of the Canadian tax rate. The Leafs are probably screwed regardless. The Panthers were smart to pull the trigger early to ensure they land the guy who changed the course of the franchise.

Vegas Needs To Do Whatever It Takes To Land Matthew Tkachuk

Okay, maybe the part of “no one” should want Marner is a bit extreme. Marner is a really good hockey player. It’s a matter of price and how much you should really pay for a finesse player that hasn’t proven it come playoff time. Based on the lessons the Panthers have left for everyone, it’s certainly worth thinking about as Marner hits free agency this Summer.

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